Red Flash Media Notes

LORETTO, Pa. – Saint Francis returns to action after the Christmas holiday with a matchup at NJIT on Tuesday night. The Red Flash is currently on a three-game winning streak, the last of which came at Rutgers on Dec. 20. The Flash defeated the Scarlet Knights, 73-68, after overcoming a 16-point deficit in the first half.
 
The Flash went on to take a 13-point lead in the second half before Rutgers took the lead by a point with 4:28 remaining. Ollie Jackson (Dallas, Texas/Pinkston )'s three pointer with 19 seconds left broke a 66-66 tie and proved to be the difference.
 
NJIT enters Tuesday's game at 5-9 after Sunday's loss at Lafayette. The Highlanders have played a tough schedule with losses at No. 7 Villanova, St. John's and Marquette. NJIT does have perhaps the biggest upset victory of the college basketball season, however, winning at nationally-ranked Michigan, 72-70, in early December. The Wolverines were ranked 17th in the Associated Press poll and 16 in the USA Today poll. It was the Highlanders' first win over a ranked opponent.
 
Three Things to Know
- Senior forward Earl Brown (Philadelphia, Pa./Imhotep Charter) scored 23 points at Rutgers to become the 39th Saint Francis player to reach the 1,000-point plateau.
- Saint Francis earned the Northeast Conference's first victory over a Big Ten school with its win at Rutgers. The Flash has defeated Penn State three times, but that was prior to PSU's time in the Big Ten.
- The Flash is looking for its first four-game win streak since it won five in a row in Jan. 2011 and its first season with seven non-conference wins since 1997-98.
 
Big Week for Brown
Senior forward Earl Brown (Philadelphia, Pa./Imhotep Charter) became the 39th Saint Francis men's basketball player to reach the 1,000-point plateau with his 23 points in the Red Flash's victory at Rutgers. Brown is the first 1,000-point scorer since Devin Sweetney (2006-10). Sweetney is currently in seventh place on the list with 1,529 career points.
 
Brown also earned the NEC Player of the Week for his outstanding performances in two signature Saint Francis victories. Brown averaged 18.5 points, 6.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.5 steals and shot 57.1 percent from the field. He tallied 16 points and six boards in the win over the Dukes and was at his best versus the Scarlet Knights. Brown finished with 23 points on 9-of-15 from the floor and added six rebounds and three assists.
 
Drinnon Dominating the Glass
Junior forward Ronnie Drinnon (Jamestown, Ohio/Greenview) dominated the glass against Rutgers, pulling down a game-high 16 rebounds. That gives him 31 rebounds in the Red Flash's past two games. Drinnon is now third in the NEC in rebounding, averaging 6.7 boards per game.
 
Firsts from the Rutgers Win
The Red Flash earned the school's first victory over a Big Ten member when it defeated Rutgers on Dec. 20. The Flash has three wins over Penn State, but that was prior to the Nittany Lions' membership in the Big Ten. It is also the NEC's first-ever win over a Big Ten program.
 
SFU has its first back-to-back non-conference road victories since defeating Youngstown State and Morgan State Nov. 29-Dec. 1, 2008. The last time Saint Francis won three straight road non-conference games was the final season before the Red Flash even belonged to a conference. It happened in January 1981 with a four-game streak that included wins over C.W. Post, Robert Morris, Towson and George Washington. Saint Francis joined the ECAC Metro-South for 1981-82.
 
Saint Francis won for the first time this season when trailing at halftime (39-34) and also when being outshot from the field by its opponent (42.6-41.7 percent).
 
Leading the NEC at Both Ends
Saint Francis is the top team in the Northeast Conference in several categories, and they include offensive and defensive numbers. The Flash leads the NEC in fewest points allowed per game, averaging just 60.9 points allowed. On the offensive end, SFU also leads the conference in field goal percentage (.455) and three-point percentage (.376).
 
Tidbits          
- Greg Brown (Odenton, Md./Archbishop Spalding) leads the NEC and is 8th in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio at 3.89.
- The win at Rutgers gave the Flash a three-game non-conference winning streak. That last occurred in Dec. 2003. The Flash defeated Bucknell, American and VMI.
- Saint Francis scored 73 points at Rutgers, and 71 of them came from the five starters. SFU was outscored 16-2 off the bench as Stephon Whyatt (Jersey City, N.J./St. Peter's Prep) had the only basket for a Red Flash reserve.